Parents whose children are going to school for the first time will experience a range of emotions -- including apprehension that your child isn't prepared. Ease your apprehension by getting a sense of what kindergarten teachers will expect, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

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Although teachers' expectations vary, here are some social skills and behaviors generally expected of children entering kindergarten:

Children should be able to follow school and classroom rules.
Children should be able to listen attentively to and follow instructions.
Children should be able to concentrate on and finish a task.
Children should show self-control.
Children should respect the property of others, share and take turns.
Children should do as much for themselves as possible, such as taking care of their personal belongings, going to the toilet, washing their hands and taking care of and putting away materials.

Kindergarten programs with clear expectations and goals are effective in helping children gain the knowledge and skills they need for future learning and school success.

The academic skills and knowledge expected of beginning kindergarten children will depend on the kind of curriculum offered by the school and on the standards that students are expected to meet by the end of the school year. Here are some achievements that are commonly expected of beginning kindergarten students:

Children can recognize and name alphabet letters.
Children can recognize print they often see such as their own name, various logos and signs.
Children understand that words in books convey meaning, are able to recognize the parts of books, and know that words run from left to right across the page and from top to bottom.
Children notice and can work with the sounds of spoken language, for example through rhyming, and can recognize when a series of words begin with the same sound.
Children use spoken language to express their thoughts and ideas, tell a story about an experience and learn about themselves and their environment.
Children produce circles, lines, scribbles and letters as part of their early writing.
Children are able to recognize numbers and understand that numbers tell us about quantity, order and measurement.
Children can recognize, name and manipulate basic shapes and understand that shapes can be transformed into other shapes.
Children know how to hold and look at a book and are beginning to learn to read.

Source: U.S. Department of Education